Campaign to sell Sabres tickets meets with chilly response

Strong anti-Rigas sentiments are leaving the Buffalo Sabres short-handed at a time when the franchise is launching a season ticket drive that may cement the team's long-term future in Western New York.

Through no fault of its own, the Sabres staff must contend with widespread mistrust toward its soon-to-be ousted owner John Rigas and his sons, Timothy, Michael and James. The Rigases have seen their financial Adelphia Communications Corp. empire fall apart over the last four months under the weight of alleged corporate misdealings. John, Timothy and Michael Rigas were arrested July 24 on federal fraud charges.

While the Sabres are under pressure to sell more season tickets in order to impress potential new owners, the community frustration with the Rigas family continues to peak. Some of that frustration is aimed at the Sabres for no other reason than they are owned by a Rigas family partnership.

Using the hockey analogy, one of the big questions has become: Can the Sabres kill off the penalty and move forward or will the team continue to be hurt by the Rigas/Adelphia financial woes?

"I can understand that people are mad or frustrated with the Rigases," said Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner during a July 30 interview with Business First. "But, that isn't fair to the Sabres."

Meanwhile, the National Hockey League, which is overseeing the team, is asking Western New Yorkers to support the team at a time when the Sabres goodwill bank is nearly depleted.

For the club's sales and marketing department it could be a chicken and egg scenario. The Sabres can't start selling long-term confidence in the club until its ownership issues are answered. And one of the keys to the new ownership scenario is the long-term, financial viability of the club, based in no small part on season ticket sales, corporate support and sponsorship and overall attendance.

"Anything they do will be compromised until the ownership issue is cleared up," said Andrew Rudnick, Buffalo Niagara Partnership president and CEO.

Bettman, who spent most of July 25 in Western New York, said selling season tickets is absolutely critical. Still, the commissioner has emphasized, the team will be in Western New York for the long term.

The Sabres, going into the July 25 Bettman blitz, which included meetings with key private sector leaders, have sold about 6,600 season tickets. Last year, the NHL season ticket average was 10,800 per club and the Sabres, for the 2001-2002 year, sold 8,120 season tickets.

In the days immediately after Bettman's visit, the team sold 18 new season tickets and renewed another 13.

"Local support is critical to making this work," Bettman said. "Sabres' fans need to demonstrate their passion for the team in concrete ways."

The support isn't just for the NHL, it is as much for the five potential ownership groups interested in bidding on the Sabres. The groups, as part of their due diligence, need to see a stronger season ticket base.

"It really is a two-way street," said Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello. "The league, the team and the fans all have to elevate their game."

Bettman did go out of his way to explain that any season ticket money will stay with the Sabres, discounting rumors that had the money working its way back to either the Rigas family or Adelphia Communications Corp.

"The fans don't have to worry about where the money is going," Bettman said. "The money is not going to Adelphia or the Rigases. It is going to the club. The money that supports the franchise will stay with the franchise."

Bettman does dispute the chicken and egg scenario. The commissioner said the league and team are committed to stabilizing the Sabres franchise.

The Sabres have done several things to show signs of not only day-to-day business but also its long term viability in Western New York. The team has made two trades, signed a handful of in-house free agents and hired a new assistant coach, former player Scott Arniel.

"I think there is stability within the club," Bettman said.

Still, the commissioner stressed local fans and business leaders must do their part and buy tickets.

"The lifeblood of any team, in any sport, is to sell tickets and sponsorships," Bettman said.

Bettman put no time frame on when the Sabres ownership issue may be resolved. He said there are five potential ownership groups who have made contact with the NHL. All five, as of July 30, remain interested and are in various stages of due diligence.

Bettman is satisfied with the progress that has been made.

"I'm not going to handicap this day-by-day, but things are about where they should be," Bettman said. "That there are five groups to step forward speaks well for Buffalo."

All five are committed to keeping the team in HSBC Arena for the long term, the commissioner added.

The lease that binds the Sabres to HSBC Arena all but prevents the team from leaving until 2022, save for the team itself filing for some form of bankruptcy protection.

Bettman stressed the league has made it clear to all prospective owners, it is only interested in talking with groups that want to keep the team in Buffalo.

"We're not even talking with anyone about moving the franchise anywhere else," Bettman said.

Bettman did say the team is doing its own due diligence on the prospective owners to make they have the financial wherewithal to not only buy the Sabres but run it long term.

The commissioner said there is no exact timetable for when the league would like to have new owners for the club. Some had hoped the new owners would at least be identified by the start of the NHL's 2002-2003 season. That prospect seems unrealistic, given the financial complexities of the deal.

"My goal is have a sale process that is as smooth as possible," Bettman said.

In the meantime, it looks like business as usual in the club's offices. Team officials are handling everything from ticket sales to player signings to determining which radio and TV station will carry the Sabres' games.

Since 1990, Sabres games have been carrying on Empire Sports Network and since 2000, the radio broadcasts have been carried on WNSA-FM. Both Empire and WNSA were owned by separate Rigas-controlled partnerships.

The ownership of both has, in a practical sense, reverted to Adelphia and its new interim executive board.

Bettman said the league and the Sabres are reviewing its radio and TV options for the upcoming season. The commissioner said he hopes all are carried on radio and cable TV, as it has in years past.

"We want coverage consistent with what the Sabres have had in the past," Bettman said.

Bob Koshinski, Empire vice president and general manager, said he is operating on the assumption the games will be jointly carried again on his station and WNSA. Koshinski said his sale staff has already hit the streets, selling ad time during Sabres telecasts.

"Nobody has told us otherwise," Koshinski said.

For his part, Bettman said he has not talked with the Rigas family since the July 24 arrests. At some point, though, he expects to talk with John Rigas.

"Everyone was surprised by the turn of events," Bettman said. "It is unfortunate on so many levels. It is being felt in Buffalo, Coudersport, with the Rigases, the Adelphia shareholders, the employees. Everyone has been touched by this."